About

Trainerbot: Smart Table Tennis Robot

$258,898

pledged of $80,000 goal

683

backers

Playing ping pong with friends is incredibly fun. But some partners are too strong and unbeatable. Others are still learning and aren't fun to play with. Others are a good match, but they are not always around.

Introducing Trainerbot, it is the world's first smart ping pong robot that is fun to play with and can teach you how to play. You can program specific shots, hone your skills and simulate games via an all-in-one app.

"I’ve played a fair amount of ping pong in my life and I like to think I’m pretty good, but last week a small plastic robot called Trainerbot pretty much wiped the floor with me." - Technobaffolo

"Trainerbot is a new household robot that is almost guaranteed to be your toughest ping-pong opponent." - arsTechnica

"Ping pong and robotics: A match made in heaven" - ZDNet

With Trainerbot, you can program any kind of game or sequence of shots so you can have fun and improve. Ever wonder how the athlete on TV missed that shot? Program that famous match and try it for yourself. It’s the ultimate practice drill!

Trainerbot is totally customizable. You can adjust the difficulty up or down so games keep you on your toes.

Trainerbot shoots balls accurately to any part of the table. It accommodates any type of shot you want to work on - be they lobs, short shots, or smashes.

It's tough to find a perfect partner who can play a competitive game with you. With Trainerbot's multi-player mode, you can play with friends at different levels by programming varied sequences of shots.

Do you play ping pong with someone you can almost - but not quite - beat? Does this friend have an array of tricky spin shots that give them the edge? Trainerbot is your secret weapon! You can program your opponent’s trick shots and secretly practice at home (they won’t stand a chance).

In Video Learning Mode, you can watch a variety of ping pong tutorials, and then try out a corresponding pre-programmed session. Or, if you want to create your own video tutorial, simply link to your video on YouTube, program a shot sequence and share it with the Trainerbot community.

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If you want to play a longer session, you can setup Trainerbot with any catch net in the market($30-40)! Catch net will collect most of the balls.

Simple setup with any catch net in the market

Stretch Goal #1: Support New ITTF Standard 40+ Ball

more info: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1743882979/trainerbot-smart-ping-pong-robot/posts/1590375

Stretch Goal #2: Spin & Location Indicator

more info: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1743882979/trainerbot-smart-ping-pong-robot/posts/1603960

Stretch Goal #3: Trainerbot Learning Platform

PINGSKILLS IS JOINING TRAINERBOT TO TEACH YOU HOW TO PLAY WITH VIDEO TUTORIALS!

We are super grateful to announce that PingSkills, one of the largest table tennis content creators in the world (33M views on Youtube) will be making custom tutorials on the trainerbot learning platform.

This is a screen shot of PingSkills's Youtube page, not the content of the mini training series

Stretch Goal #4: Trainerbot Fantasy Match Point Mode

We are two brothers who love making robots and playing ping pong. We’ve been playing together since we were kids. We knew each other's game pretty well, so we can frequently enjoy the moment of epic shots when we play against each other.

We, later on, went to study at different places of the world and wasn't able to train with each other all the time. So we thought, "what if we can build a robot that just serve me that perfect shot like my brother did?"

That's started the epic journey Trainerbot!

Every summer and winter break we would join up to build a new prototype. It started with a garbage can that spit out balls, but it became more and more epic as our engineering skills grew year after year.

Past prototypes

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In February 2016, we decided to take our hobby full time. We were accepted to the HAX Accelerator and have since built six new working prototypes with manufacturing in mind. We’re now ready to bring this to the Kickstarter community!

This project is promoted by Jellop, a direct­ response online advertising agency specializing in Kickstarter campaigns on Facebook Ads and Google AdWords.

We’re hoping to raise $80K with our campaign. We have chosen our manufacturing partners, and are ready to go with production. The money raised will go towards tooling and sourcing the best quality materials. As avid backers ourselves, we feel very honored to be able to bring our project to life with the help of crowdfunding. We saw a need for an affordable ping pong robot that could be easily taken on the go, and really wanted to share it with the Kickstarter community, where so many big ideas become reality. We look forward to hearing your feedback and ideas on how we can make Trainerbot even better!

Risks and challenges

Like any hardware project, there are risks and challenges associated with manufacturing and supply chain logistics. We’re working with a tier-one manufacturing partner, but that said, there is always a chance that unexpected changes or issues may arise during execution impacting the delivery schedule.

Delays may arise from the following:

Injection molding - circumstances outside of our control may impact the design and pricing of the tooling.

Component supply shortages - Our product is designed to be able to use components from multiple suppliers wherever possible.

Quality Control - As with any large volume order, there is a small chance of defective units. It’s very important to us that we deliver the best product to you, so we will be checking every unit before shipping.